cadet blogs

It feels as if the spring semester picked up right where the fall semester ended. Following a week for preparations and listening to many speeches, classes began. After the last semester, I have entered this semester focused and ready to go for another engineering-dominated year. As a mechanical engineer, I will be taking Dynamics, Engineering Materials Science, Differential Equations, and Ships and Maritime Studies. In the fall, I took three lab courses. Now, I only take one lab on Tuesdays, and classes from 8 to 4 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

I am also taking racquetball as a class. Every morning at 0800, I get to play racquetball for an hour. It is a great workout first thing and it wakes me up for the day. I get to play with some of my friends, many of whom are more athletic than me. They are helping me become a better racquetball player and overall athlete. With a 0800 PE class, I can now get a weightlifting session in before classes. This is another chance for me to get a workout, and it allows me to dedicate the afternoon to boxing.

In boxing, we are now preparing for the Regimental Open, which will be late February. There are many new boxers who have come out to participate. I will still be recovering from my shoulder injury, so I am helping to coach the new boxers, as well as rehabilitating. There is no doubt that this Academy tradition will be successful again.

The corps already had one long weekend this semester, celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. During the long weekend earlier this month, I traveled to Boston. I visited my civilian friends at Northeastern University and Boston College. It was good to spend a weekend away from the grueling lifestyle of the Academy. I am already looking forward to President’s Day Weekend, where I hope to take some of my fellow cadets to New Jersey to visit my hometown. That weekend is not far away, so it is important that I stay motivated!

I spent much of last week sleeping on an uncomfortable bus, standing around and waiting, practicing marching, getting cleared by security, waiting for the Inauguration Parade to start, and a lot more waiting. It’s safe to say that the theme of my weekend was waiting. In fact, much of my weekend was boring and uninteresting. However, in the single moment of marching past President Barack Obama, when the Regimental Commander called, “Eyes left!” and we saluted the President and saw him salute back, all of my gripes, complaints, and frustrations seemed to vanish. That single moment during our long march in the parade made the entire weekend worthwhile.

I know I speak for all 89 of my shipmates that marched in the parade when I say that regardless of political beliefs, having the opportunity to march in the Inauguration Parade to show support for our new Commander-in-Chief was one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Even though it was dark by the time we started the parade, and most of the crowd had retreated to find warmer quarters, none of that mattered. Marching in that historic parade, and being a part of that once in a lifetime experience is something that will live with me for the rest of my life, and is something that I am honored to have been a part of.

There are not enough words to describe what an honor it was to march in the Inaugural Parade. Saying that it was a “great opportunity” will just not cut it in this case. I cannot simply tell you I marched in the Inaugural Parade. It was an honor representing the Academy, my family and community in such an event. I was one of 90 cadets who had the opportunity to pass about 50 feet in front of the President and our commandant, hopefully impressing them with our flawless formation. Hearing the random shouts from the crowd, “Thank you for your service” or “Yea!! Go Coast Guard Academy” just made me stand up taller. I was overjoyed to be marching for such a respected service. Hearing the announcer describe who we were brought a smile to my face, because I was SO PROUD! The long day of going from various security checkpoints and waiting for our turn to march was well worth it. I had the occasion to see things that my peers may never get the chance to see and be part of something that I will remember for the rest of my life. This weekend will be recorded as probably one of the best weekends at the Academy so far. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to take part in nationally recognized events such as this.

Well, the winter break was great while it lasted. I got to spend some much wanted time off with my family and friends, also recharging my batteries for the spring semester. Although we come back to books and schoolwork, there are many events that all the cadets are anticipating. During our first week back, I was privileged enough to once again play hockey and even more exciting, our first game back was against our rival Kings Point. The game was well attended and a good welcoming back for the team. We did not get the result we wanted, but the 5 to 3 loss was a hard-fought battle, and a promise that is going to lead to an annual game.

For us third class cadets, this summer will be our cadre summer in which we get to train the incoming class of 2017, Coast Guard Scholars, or prospective cadets in the Academy Introduction Mission. All our requests have been submitted and sometime early next week we will be hearing what programs we have been selected for. Not only will we get interaction being cadre, we will also participate in many other programs that expose us to leadership. The one I am most looking forward to is the week of Coastal Sail, in which eight of my classmates, a safety officer, and me will get to sail on 44-foot sailboat around New England. All of this will be here before I know it, but until then I must keep my focus on academics.

Another Glee Club/Chorale trip in the books. They keep getting better and better for some reason, and perhaps that is why I am so fond of them. Last year around this time the group went down to Fort Worth. It was a marvelous time, so we expected the same of this trip to Atlanta and then Savannah, Georgia. We were ever so correct. We held three performances, two in the Atlanta area, and one in Savannah. All of them were good, but the one we did in Savannah was exceptional. It was in a very old church, and there were probably 200 people there listening to us. Overall, the trip was incredible, and one for the books.

Of course, while we weren’t performing, the group was out and about, enjoying the warm weather and the activities. We got there late on Thursday night, and woke up in Peach Tree City on Friday morning. We decided to go to the heart of Atlanta, and check out the Georgia Aquarium, which was fantastic. Lots and lots of aquatic life (who would’ve thought?) After that, we had our first performance at one of our 1/c’s old high school. It went very well, and we continued our last day in Atlanta by walking around and eating Chick-fil-A before our last concert. After many tastes, I can tell you that there IS a difference between Georgian Chick-fil-A and other Chick-fil-As. Georgia Chick-fil-A is better.

We got to Savannah the next day, and of course, we were put in a haunted inn. A woman committed suicide there and haunts Room 204. Which rooms were we in? 201-203. It was freaky, to say the least. Savannah turned out to be an excellent stop, with a lot to do. The riverfront, some historical sites, and the restaurants were just a few things we saw. The nightlife in Savannah was fantastic and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We ended up watching the Conference Championship games at one of the best burger places ever created. And while we did get a few chills, no dramatic ghosts appeared to us throughout our stay.

With that, we headed back, and here we are again in New London. I get to go to Montreal in a few days for Model U.N., so there will definitely be a blog for that! Until then, back to school at the fine institution known as CGA!